Egyptian Protests

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, visiting Egypt this week, tweeted that it was “inspiring standing in Tahrir Square with young people who stood up for democracy in Egypt”.

Mr Rudd’s sentiments are shared across the world. It’s very hard not to be inspired by the way in which the Egyptian people have claimed control of their own future. Just a month ago, even as pressure on Hosni Mubarak mounted, very few people would have predicted such a speedy and relatively smooth transition of power.

Certainly the Egyptian example has inspired similar uprisings against neighbouring dictators, most notably Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. However, those who expect a similarly speedy and successful resolution of the conflict in that country are likely to be shocked by what is about to unfold in Libya.

Continue reading "The UN must act to fill a Libyan power vacuum" »

While all eyes have been on Egypt the past three weeks, across in the Arab world another country is going through massive transformations that have a major impact on Western support and influence in the region.

Lebanon is due to form its Hezbollah-backed government in the coming days. The group is officially listed by the United States, Israel and many other European countries as a terrorist group and the formation of such a government has been interpreted by these Western countries as a rise in Iranian influence, effectively hijacking the US-backed government and its influence in the region.

It is this naïve interpretation of events that could serve as a catalyst in sparking violent conflict within the region.

Continue reading "Lebanon is on a knife edge" »

The notion that one person’s status update can spark a revolution has gained momentum in recent years.  The “Twitter Revolution” is now a familiar concept. Before it was applied to the current protests in Egypt, the term was used to describe the election riots in Moldova and Iran in 2009 and last year’s Tunisian street demonstrations.

As well as being an attractive media catch-word, the moniker has been regarded as apt because the political upheaval in each of these cases was organised using technological networking tools, including SMS, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Social networks are powerful instruments for connecting and uniting strangers with common objectives.  The Obama 08 campaign was fought perhaps most intensely on the internet, where followers were offered intimate access to “Obama Everywhere” (or at least on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, Black Planet, MiGente, LinkedIn, MyBatanga and DNC Partybuilder).

Continue reading "The revolution will be Twitterised" »

The Egyptian protests that have led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak have produced some incredible media images, by photographers who often put their own lives in danger to bring us scenes from the streets of Egypt.

Here are some photos from the last two weeks, which culminated in celebrations on Friday night as Mubarak announced he would end his 30 year term.

Continue reading "Images of the Egyptian revolution" »